Fortune magazine recently ran an article called "The Best Advice I Ever Got" that included some great points. Here are a few:
From Michael Bloomberg - Mayor of New York City
"Always ask for the order, and stop talking when the customer says yes."
I suspect that no more than 10% of retail salespeople ask for the order. Most of them can't because they don't know if the product meets the customer's needs. The others are just showing the product, not making a sale. When your team asks for the order on a regular basis - sales are sure to follow.
From Indra Nooyi - Chairman and CEO of Pepsico
"My father was an absolutely wonderful human being. From him I learned to always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different."
This is great advice in both business and life. At work it can be applied in two key areas. The first is when dealing with customer returns. Most customers who return a product are doing so with a positive intent. For one reason or another, the product has failed to meet their needs. But because there are a couple customers whose intentions aren't as positive, we sometimes carry a negative feeling about the few over to our dealings with the many. All of us have been on the other side of the counter and don't appreciate a challenging return process.
Another area to assume a positive intent is when managing individuals who are struggling at their job. Years ago an HR rep reminded me that very few people wake up in the morning planning to go stink at their job. She told me to always assume that the person is struggling because they "can't" do the job, not that they "won't." Only after I made sure I attempted to give the person the skills and knowledge to do the job could I come to an informed conclusion.
From Thomas Murphy - Former CEO of Capital Cities/ABC
"The last thing a college professor told us at the end of the class was to remember for the rest of our life is to not spend time on the things you can't control. Instead, spend your time thinking about what you can."
This is essential advice when running a business in today's topsy-turvy economic challenges. You have no control over rising oil prices, a big drop in the stock market, or Big Brown not winning the Belmont. What you can control is how often you communicate with your best customers, the quality of the experience you deliver in your store, and the attitude and spirit of your staff. And if you don't believe you control that last one you will struggle to succeed.
From Nelson Peltz - CEO of Trian Fund Management
"It was my dad who gave me the best advice of my 45-year career. He said get sales up and keep expenses down. That sounds simplistic, but it is the way my father got 4% margins in his food business when his competitors made 1% or 2%. The goal is to get revenues moving and to keep expenses from rising at the same rate so that the margins expand."
When consulting with retailers who are struggling with sales the first thing they assume is they have to increase expenses to get revenues up. Not so. More than anything what is required is to shift where executives/owners and managers spend their time and focus.
Remember, there is no cost involved in working harder or working smarter.
So let me ask, do you have any advice you've been given that you'd like to share?
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